Wagon-stake.



H. F. MILLER.

WAGON STAKE.

APPLlcATloN man APR.23.1917.

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iNVENTH df WSTNESSES f fw j My Wn ATTOR N EY entren.

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Hannan 'frf :MII-.issn or wrrrnusune, Wisconsin.

WAGON-STAKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented aan. is, raie."

Applicationmed sprites, 1917. serial No. 164,024.

TouZZ whom t may concern: 1 j

Bc it known that LHERVMAN'F. MiLLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Vittenberg, in the ycounty Vof Shaw-ano and State of `Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful VImprovementsy in Wagon- Stakes, of which the following is a specilication.

This invention relates tof'vehicles, and

more particularly todetachable" stakes for wagons. j

The main object of the" invention is to construct a 'stake of nthis character which may be quickly applied and removed, `and when in operative position, will be securely locked against accidental disengagement.

Another object is to provide a wagon stake made in detachable sections whereby the height of the stake may be varied to compensate Afor the load.

Another object is to providesimple and the invention herein disclosed maybe made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

-ln the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a portion of a wagon bolsterjshowing this improved stake applied and in locked position thereon, j i i Fig. Q vissn end'view' thereof, Fig. 3 isa top plan view,

Fig. 4 is an' end view "showing the locking latch in open position,

Fig. 5 'is'a detail sectional view through the locking mechanism of the stake, and j Fig. 6 isa detail perspective view of the upper or extension' portion ofthe stake; y

In the ,embodiment-Y illustrated, a wagon,

bolsterl isfshnwn'coinposed offwood vwith,`

its ends rounded as shownat 2 in Figs. 1,

reinforcing" "strap 3 extendingfar'ound each end andV riveted4 or otherwise suitably Sie-fcured" thereto, al bolt 3', preferably extend, ing" through the strap' and bolster, near the end of the latter@ and `which is designed nector for the strap 2 and as a stop .tor a purpose to be described.

This bolster 1 is provided with a stake seat here shown in the form of an aperture 5 extending entirely through the bolster, the front wall 6 of which is inclined downwardlv and inwardly as is shown clearly i in Fig. 1.

The stake 10 einbodyingthis invention is preferably composed of wood and has a.

lateral projection 11 on its front edge which i terminates at its lower end in a right angularly disposed shoulder 12 which is designed to rest on the upper face of the bolster 1 when the stake is in operative position, as

is shown clearly in Fig. 1. The front edgeofthis stake from said shoulder to its lower terminal is inclined downwardly and inwardly to conform to the front wall of the seat 5 inthe bolster 1. rThe upper end of" the projection l1 of this stake 10 is inclined upwardly and inwardly as shown at 13 in Fig. 1 and has a recess 1d formed at its junction with the upright front edge of said projection. The front edge of this stake 10 also has a cut-out portion 15 which extends from the upper end of the inclined shoulder 13 toV a point about midway of the stake as is shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 5 and which is designed for a purpose to be described,

said cut-out portion having a notch or recess 16 in its rear wall.

This stake 10 has a metal strap 17 extending entirelyv around the edge thereof and over its upper end, the upper portion of saidl v strap being spaced from the upper end of the stake and curved or bowed outwardly as shown clearly at 18 in Fig. 1, the upper endl,` of stake 10 being concave as` shown at 19 so that in connection with `the bowed por! tion of the strap a circular eye 20 is formed e, between said bowed strap portion and con-` cave stake end.I This strap 17 is secured to the stake 10 in any suitable manner, being here shown riveted thereto and forms a,

closure for therecess 15 at the front of the."V stake as is shown clearly'in Figs. 1 and 5, l

This strap ,17 has a notch or slot 21 opening through one side edge thereof and which registers with the recess 14: formed stake at this point and is designedto receive.

a tongue 22 carriedby one end ofa latchfQ' which is pivctally mounted at its upperjendf to the strap 17 at a point adjacent the upper end l`of therecess 15, said latch conferrningl v contour to the shape of the strap where 'pao it passes over the shoulder 13 ofthe stake. This latch has a laterally extending arm 24: disposed between said tongue 22 and the body portion thereof, said arm being arranged at an oblique angle to said body portion and spaced laterally from the shoulder 13 Vwhen in operative position to afford space between it and said shoulder to receive a coperating locking stirrup 25 carried by the bolster 1 and which will be presently described in detail.

A keeper 26 is mounted to slideon strap 17 where it extends over the recess 15 in the stake, said recess providing for the sliding of said keeper and the end walls of said recess operate to restrict all longitudinal movement of said keeper. This keeper is designed when moved to its extreme lowered position to lock latch 23 against lateral swinging, said keeper encircling said latch asis shown clearly in Figs. 1, 2 and 5. The latch 23 is pivoted to strap 17 a sufficient distance below the upper end of recess l5 to provide for the positioning of the keeper above said pivoted end to perlnit the latch to swing laterally outward when it is desired to release the stirrup.

A substantially U-shaped locking` spring 27 has the terminals of its arms bent inwardly and engaged with opposite sides of the stake at points near the lower end thereof, while the cross bar 28 which connects the inner ends of said arms -is bent laterally outward and spans the front edge of the stake 10 near the lower end of its recessed portion 15, said cross bar being positioned opposite the notch 16 in the rear wall of the recess 15 so that when said spring is moved inwardly, said cross bar 28 will enter the notch 16 and permit keeper 2G to slide freely thereover. When the keeper is in its extreme lower locking position as shown in Figs, 1` 2 and 5, the cross bar 28 of this spring will move forwardly above the upper edge of the keeper and operate to lock it against upward movement so that the latch 23 cannot be disengaged from the stirrup 25, until said spring has been depressed and the keeper 26 moved upwardly beyond the pivotal point of the latch into the position shown in Fig. 4. After it has been so swung it will be obvious that the latch 23 may be swung laterally outward t0 disengage the stirrup 25 and permit said stirrup to swing downwardly out ofV locking engagement with the shoulder 13, to release the stake which, when said stirrup is so'positioned may be moved from its seat slightly bent edgewise so that when the stirrup is swung upward into locking engagement'kW-tll theshoulder 13 of the Stake 10,

the cross bar of said stirrup will engage said shoulder and when the latch 23 is swung down into closed position over the stirrup the tongue 22 thereof entering thev of the front end thereof will reston the" head of bolt 3 at one side of the bolster and on the nut 3 carriedfby said bolt on the opposite side of the bolster and be thereby limited in its downward movement, this bolt being so positioned in relation to the stirrup that the upper edge of the stirrup will be arranged below the upper face of the bolster when so positioned so as to prevent all danger or possibility of the stirrup becoming iniured or broken.VV

To provide for the lengthening of the stake 10, an extension member 30 is provided and which may be used or notas desired.

tail in Fig. 6 and applied in Figs. 1 and 2 and comprises a pair of plates 31 and 32 of a width corresponding tothe width of stake 10` and which have their upper and lower ends inclined in opposite directions. The `upper ends of these plates are riveted to a metal strap reinforced wooden section 33 which may be of any suitable or desired length according to the length it is desired to add to the stake l0 when this attachment is applied. rlhe lower ends of these plates 31 and 32 are adapted to span the upper end of stake 10 and to be bolted Vthereto as shown at 34, any desired number of bolts being employedv for this purpose, threev being here shown. It will thus be seen that for lengthening this stake, all that is necessary is to bolt this extension member to the upper end thereof and when itV is not desired for use, the bolts 34 may be removed and said extension member detached.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. the advantages of the construction and of the method Vof operation will be readily apparent to those skilledV in the art to which VThis extension member 30 is shown in de- Y the invention appertains andwhile I have described the principle of operation of the invention together with the device which I- now consider to be the best vembodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that' such changes may be made as are within the scope of the claimed invention.

naaaaia l claim:

1. The combination with a wagon bolster; of a stake having detachable engagement therewith, a stirrup carried by one of said members and pivoted means by the other for interlocking engagement with the stirrup.

2. The combination with a wagon bolster; of a stake having detachable engagement therewith, a stirrup carried by one of said members and means by the other for interlocking engagement with the stirrup, and means for locking the stirrup in operative position.

3. The combination with a wagon bolster; of a stake for detachable engagement therewith, a shoulder carried by one of said members and a stirrup by the other for interlocking engagement with said shoulder, and means for locking said stirrup in engagement with said shoulder.

4. The combination with a wagon bolster; of a stake for detachable engagement therewith, a shoulder carried by one of said members and a stirrup by the other for interlocking engagement with said shoulder, a latch pivoted to swing over said stirrup to hold it in engagement with said shoulder, and means for locking said latch in operative position.

5. The combination with a wagon bolster; of a stake for detachable engagement therewith, a shoulder carried by one of said members and a stirrup by the other ior interlocking engagement with said shoulder, a latch pivoted to swing over said stirrup to hold it in engagement with said shoulder,

and a keeper slidable on said stake and adapted to slide over said latch and lock it against swinging movement.

6. The combination with a wagon bolster; of a stake for detachable engagement therewith, said stake having a laterally extending downwardly inclined shoulder on the front edge thereof, a stirrup pivotally connected with said bolster and adapted to swing over and engage said shoulder, a latch mounted to 'swing in a plane at right angles to the plane of movement of said stirrup, and to swing over said stirrup, said latch and stake having coperating interlocking elements for limiting the swinging movement of the latch in one direction, and a keeper mounted to engage said latch and hold it against swinging movement.

7. The combination with a wagon bolster; of a stake for detachable engagement therewith, said stake having a laterally extending downwardly inclined shoulder on the front edge thereof, a stirrup pivotally connected with said bolster and adapted to swing over and engage said shoulder, a latch mounted to swing in a plane at right angles to the plane of movement of said stirrup, and to swing over said stirrup, said latch and stake having coperating interlocking elements for limiting the swinging movement of the latch in one direction, a keeper mounted to engage said latch and hold it against swinging movement, and a spring actuated member for locking said keeper in operative engagement with said latch.

In testimony whereof l afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HERMAN F. MILLER.

Witnesses:

W. D. HASELTINE, LUELLA BERBAUM.

@epica mi this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by 'addressing the Commissioner of Patente,

Washington, D. G. 

